We waited, and waited. Followed up. Got an email back that basically said, "I'm sorry, I thought that had been processed. I'll do it now." and then waited and waited and followed up again. And again. Finally, after several months of waiting and following up, my DD received a Visa gift card in the mail in November for the cost of the fins. While she didn't receive the replacement pair, we're still satisfied with the outcome, if a bit dismayed it took so much nagging on our part.

I've decided, though, that I'm not going to sit back and let ourselves be "taken" by poorly made products. In November, DD bought the cutest little snowflake necklace from AC Moore. The snowflakes lit up and flashed. She'd planned on using it as the garland on her tiny artificial Christmas tree she puts in her room, so imagine our dismay when, one-by-one the snowflakes stopped lighting up over a matter of a week or so until only ONE was lit.

They were only $5 and we didn't have our receipt. Plus AC Moore is at the mall and it was the weekend after Thanksgiving -- no way I was going to battle the mall. So, I emailed them and included a picture of the necklace with its one flashing light. Told them I loved their store, and that we patronized them all the time (we do -- DD gets much of her jewelry supplies there) and was sad that they had such poor products in their store. I explained that my daughter had purchased it with her own money and that we didn't keep the receipt, but that I wanted to bring it to their attention.

Not only did they get back to me the same day, but they offered to send a gift card for refund. I'd heard that before (see above) but gave it a shot. I want you to know that the gift card arrived in a matter of a few days. AC Moore gets a bit two thumbs up from me.

Most recently, DD received a Rubik's Slide game from one of the ladies at our agility class (I think she's their mascot ... lol). She LOVED that game and the first night she had it she played it for hours. The next morning, she came downstairs in tears -- the control button wasn't working (the button that selects your game, gives you the solution you're trying for and controls the volume). We put in new batteries in case that might help. It didn't.

So ... she'd had it one day, and although she played it to death, she didn't drop it on the floor or into the bathtub. The game should hold up to a little playing. I have no idea where the woman got the game, obviously we didn't have a receipt for it, so off I went to the computer again. I emailed them and explained the situation concisely.

The following day, I received a response. They apologized, said that they stand behind their products and would send DD a new Rubik's Slide via Fed Ex. Though that was only a couple of days ago, and we haven't rec'd the toy yet, I still feel heartened by the response.

EDITED TO ADD: FedEx just dropped off her new Rubik's Slide. Good for TechnoSource -- two thumbs up.

Fact is, those folks have taken a bad situation (especially AC Moore, because we use them all the time and there is plenty of competition we could use instead) and made me and my DD feel warm and fuzzy.

5 comments:

I understand customer service. At my old job, one of the managers would give people discounts over every complaint. He wanted to ensure that the customer would come back. Another manager though, would rarely ever give a discount. One day, a customer complained that their food took an hour to be made (where it normally would take 20 minutes) and when their food came out, it was cold and under cooked. She told the customer “oh well” and didn’t do anything. Needless to say, they never came back.

I've run across a few customer service issues lately. I let one slide, though it annoyed me. I think we let too many things slide as consumers because of time and the hassle. Maybe if more people were like you they would work harder to make better products. WTG and Good For You!

This reminds me I need to complain to Coca Cola about the redesign of their bottles they did awhile back. Their bottles are a smidge too tall to fit correctly in my new mini fridge. Other 2 liter bottles fit fine.

This reminds me I need to complain to Coca Cola about the redesign of their bottles they did awhile back. Their bottles are a smidge too tall to fit correctly in my new mini fridge. Other 2 liter bottles fit fine.